Economy Scrutiny Committee - Meetings, agendas, and minutes

Economy Scrutiny Committee

Date: Thursday, 24 June 2021

Time: 2.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension

This is a Supplementary Agenda containing additional information about the business of the meeting that was not available when the agenda was published

Access to the Council Antechamber

Public access to the Council Antechamber is on Level 2 of the Town Hall Extension, using the lift or stairs in the lobby of the Mount Street entrance to the Extension. That lobby can also be reached from the St. Peter’s Square entrance and from Library Walk. There is no public access from the Lloyd Street entrances of the Extension.

Filming and broadcast of the meeting

Meetings of the Economy Scrutiny Committee are ‘webcast’. These meetings are filmed and broadcast live on the Internet. If you attend this meeting you should be aware that you might be filmed and included in that transmission.

Membership of the Economy Scrutiny Committee

Councillors - H Priest (Chair), Baker-Smith, Bayunu, Doswell, Farrell, Johns, Moore, Noor, Raikes, Stanton and Strong

Public Document Pack

Economy Scrutiny Committee

Supplementary Agenda 7. Economy COVID19 Sit Rep Report

Report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure and Director of Inclusive Economy attached This report provides Committee Members with a further update summary of the current situation in the city in relation to COVID-19 and an update on the work progressing in Manchester in relation to areas within the remit of this Committee.

3 - 38

Further Information

For help, advice and information about this meeting please contact the Committee Officer: Michael Williamson Tel: 0161 234 3071 Email: [email protected] This supplementary agenda was issued on Friday, 18 June 2021 by the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit, Manchester City Council, Level 3, Town Hall Extension, Manchester M60 2LA

Manchester City Council Report for Information

Report to: Economy Scrutiny Committee – 24 June 2021 Subject: Update on COVID-19 Activity Report of: Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure and Director of

Inclusive Economy

Summary This report provides Committee Members with a further update summary of the current situation in the city in relation to COVID-19 and an update on the work progressing in Manchester in relation to areas within the remit of this Committee. Further detail on specific issues will be available as required. Recommendations The Committee is requested to note the update.

Wards Affected: All

Environmental Impact Assessment - the impact of the issues addressed in this report on achieving the zero-carbon target for the city

Manchester Strategy Outcomes Summary of how this report aligns to the OMS

A thriving and sustainable city: supporting a diverse and distinctive economy that creates jobs and opportunities

This unprecedented national and international crisis impacts on all areas of our city. The ‘Our Manchester’ approach has underpinned the planning and delivery of our response, working in partnership and identifying innovative ways to continue to deliver services and to establish new services as quickly as possible to support the most vulnerable in our city. A reset of the Our Manchester Strategy is now underway following a meeting of the Our

A highly skilled city: world class and home grown talent sustaining the city’s economic success

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A progressive and equitable city: making a positive contribution by unlocking the potential of our communities

Manchester Forum on 16 June 2020. An extensive engagement exercise will take place to inform a draft document in late 2020 and a final version in February 2021.

A liveable and low carbon city: a destination of choice to live, visit, work

A connected city: world class infrastructure and connectivity to drive growth

Contact Officers: Name: Pat Bartoli Position: Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure Telephone: 0161 234 3329 Email: [email protected] Name: Angela Harrington Position: Director of Inclusive Economy Telephone: 0161 234 3171 Email: [email protected] Name: Hilary Sayers Position: City Centre Growth Manager Telephone: 0161 234 3387 Email: [email protected] Background documents (available for public inspection): None

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Economic Recovery Workstream- Sitrep Summary

As at 10/06/21 for Economic Scrutiny Committee on 24/06/21. Updated fortnightly. Latest updates shown in yellow.

Issue/them

e/activity

area

Impact/ challenges experienced Key planning and response activity being undertaken

General

Overview

ONS National data week ending 4th

June:

8% of workforce were on furlough

in mid-May

87% of businesses are currently

trading, the highest proportion

since comparable estimates began

in June 2020

F&B businesses trading rose from

61% to 83% in May

In the week to Monday 31 May

2021, the seven-day average

estimate of UK seated diners was

at 173% of its level in the same

week of 2019, an increase of 41

percentage points from the

previous week.

Skills gaps and vacancies rising: the

reopening of various sectors and

improved market confidence has led to a

Powering Recovery: Manchester’s Recovery and

Investment Plan’ launched in Nov. Four investment

priorities around: innovation; city centre and urban realm;

residential retrofit programme; and North Manchester

regeneration. Seeking govt funding for over 50 projects of

£798.8 m. The plan can be accessed here.

United City business-led campaign launched 22/11 and

supported by MCC.

Business Sounding Board and Real Estate subgroup

continue to meet regularly to share intel across sectors and

to help support MCC lobbying.

Weekly MCC newsletter issued to over 9,000 businesses

with updates.

Comms update

Link to the film: Manchester is back. Stronger than ever. -

YouTube

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sharp increase in vacancies, with starting

salaries increasing as a result. North of

England saw the steepest rise, according

to the KPMG survey, with the most

vacancies in IT, computing and hotel and

catering.

Manchester top three for inward

investment: the EY UK Attractiveness

Survey 2021 has shown that investors

are increasing drawn to the UK as the

number of foreign direct investment

projects increased in 2020. Manchester

was the third leading city in the UK,

behind London and Edinburgh, for

attracting FDI, with 35 projects recorded

(Edinburgh had 36).

Results of some pilot events: after a

series of pilot events to test safety of

large gatherings such sports events and

live music performances, only 15 cases of

Covid were recorded amongst the 58,000

people who took part in the pilots. A final

report will be released when all events

have concluded. The initial list of pilot

events will run to 20th June.

Five day week predicted: the Centre for

Cities has predicted that in the long term,

workers will be in the office five days a

week. The chance meetings in the office

The film performed most well on Twitter with over 100k

impressions, 13k view of the video and over 300 likes. Our

Twitter followers tend to include partners and well as

residents and businesses. It also did well on LinkedIn with 7k

views and 367 likes.

The Welcome Back campaign moved into the next phase of

lockdown messaging from the 17th May with emphasis on

culture venues opening back up. We produced another film

with the Contact Theatre on what opening up meant to them

and how important it is to support our cultural

venues. Manchester art & entertainment venues are opening

🎭 #WelcomeBackMCR - YouTube

Alongside this, visitors to the city will see a raft of Welcome

Back messaging from outdoor digital advertising, poster

sites, shop windows and in taxis to name a few.

The weekly Welcome Back ebulletin signposts to the events

taking place, such as the flower show, along side key advice

to ask that people continue to follow the advice and guidance

so we can all return safely.

Re-opening update

590 licensed premises open with around 70 not yet

reopened. Hospitality was at 70-100% capacity last week.

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and a fear of missing out on time with

senior staff as well as understanding the

culture of an organisation, are a few of

the reasons given for the shift back to the

office full time. In the shorter term as the

country recovers, CfC says that three- or

four-day office weeks will be the norm.

Supporting the findings of the Centre for

Cities report, Bruntwood commented to

the BBC that they had seen strong

demand for flexible and serviced office

space on short leases, from both small

companies and larger corporations.

First Manchester Central event: on 24

June Manchester Central will host

PROGRESS21 in its first in-person event

since the pandemic started.

PRI Dashboard June

The number of Manchester residents on Furlough has decreased for 2 months in a row following a peak in January despite the country remaining in lockdown for that period. The decrease is likely to have accelerated significantly since then with the economy reopening. Nationally the proportion of business’s workforce still on furlough fell from 17% to 13% in April.

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Estimates for seated table reservations in Manchester on the day that indoor hospitality resumed (17th May) was up by 181% compared to the same day of the week in 2019 (OpenTable).

UC claimants continue to grow & now exceed 80,000 (an increase of 90% since the start of the pandemic).

City centre residential rents recovering to close to pre-Covid levels, with average rents in Q4 2020/21 at £986 PCM (a 2.1% increase on the last quarter).

City centre residential new build premium continuing to drive prices, whilst the city centre secondary residential market is not transacting. Temporary SDLT reform not making up for economic uncertainty linked to Covid-19 and fire safety issues in the city centre secondary market.

In June 2021 over 8,000 homes on site across the city -including 830 affordable homes.

More completions in 2020-21 than any year since 2008 – a further 12,000 expected over the next 3 years.

Business deaths are exceeding business births in Manchester -

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36% more business deaths than births in April.

175,000 m²of office space is currently on-site in the city centre.

262,000m² of city centre office space is expected to complete between 2021- 2024.

562,000m2 total commercial space is expected to complete between 2021-2024.

There are currently 2,136 hotel rooms under construction in the city centre.

Local charity Embassy and developers Peel and Capital & Centric have submitted plans to build 40 modular homes in the city centre to house homeless people –“Embassy Village” The permanent structures would be made from repurposed shipping containers with the first units potentially available from 2022. The proposed new village will take up residence on the currently derelict site below the railway arches between the Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell in the city centre. City Football Group becomes a partner in the £350m “Co-op Live” Eastlands Arena

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Bam Construction is currently on-site and halfway through a 9 month package of site remediation work. MIDAS Manchester Report

In the year to date Manchester has

landed:

29 projects

Created 1,017 jobs and

safeguarded 165 jobs.

Sectors included advanced

manufacturing, creative, digital and

tech and financial and professional

services.

BSB

09/06/21

There was a presentation from the

Manchester Climate Change

Partnership.

Manchester has delivered a 20%

reduction on our carbon budget;

however the pandemic played a

role as direct emissions have

dropped.

FSB is participating in the ‘Race to

Zero’ campaign. A zero carbon

business programme is being

delivered which will cover

collaboration targets, EV charging,

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supply chain messaging and

capacity building in SMEs.

The Arndale centre are reporting

that footfall figures are increasing

and are now within the region of

30-35% of pre pandemic levels.

The majority of shoppers are from

within the local catchment area.

HOME have reported strong

response to their HOME Ground

events, with 9000 audience

members passing through the site,

50% greater than their planned

scenario.

The return to the theatre and

culture events is going well, such

as the Halle at Bridgewater Hall

and audiences are responding

positively to reopening.

An update was provided by MCC

on the reopening and increasing

footfall and that people were

returning to the office.

An update was given following the

government announcement of

Greater Manchester being an

‘enhanced recovery’ area. Some

businesses felt that while some

govt messaging was unclear, local

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messaging had been clearer.

There was still some uncertainty

around travel out of and into GM.

Recruitment issues felt across the

whole hospitality sector. F&B

indies are really struggling, but it

was recognised that there would

be no quick solutions to

addressing this. A business-led

approach was suggested to

respond to this, to attract more

young people into the sector. This

would build on the campaign work

that UK Hospitality were running.

GM Tier

Meeting

09/06/21

TfGM

Aside from the latest announcement, despite TfGM messaging there has only been a small shift in passengers altering behaviours to spread demand outside of peak times. The key pinch point was and remains PM peak. More work on this will probably be required as more people return to offices.

Commercial

Enquiries for space remain strong with customers indicating that they still need office space even if it will

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be not occupied the traditional 5 day working week.

Progress 21

There is a dedicated website with further information - https://progress21.co.uk/

Joanne Roney (AM) and Sir Richard Leese (PM) will both be speaking at the event.

Marketing Manchester asked Tier representatives to encourage team members and partner to attend the event.

The event will be Covid secure and will require vaccine / testing for entry.

Footfall Footfall trends- City Centre

(Springboard / CityCo)

Week 20– Sun 30 May to Sat

5 June

Week

on

week

%

Year

on

year %

Pre Covid

St Ann’s

Sq +35% +424% -2.5%

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Exchange

Sq

+17.5

%

+1823

% +10%

King Street +35% +491% -31%

Market

Street

+22.5

% +258% +8%

New

Cathedral

St

+12% +493% -8%

NB Given the low level of current footfall,

small increase in numbers can lead to

relatively high percentage increases. The

significant increases relating to year on

year figures are as a result of the

comparison with footfall between 2020

and 2021.

Week commencing 31 May was school

half term holiday and all areas saw an

increase in footfall. The busiest day was

Saturday with a footfall number of

128,036, a 15% decrease on the previous

Saturday, but all other days saw

significant increases resulting in footfall

overall for the week being up by 23%.

Mon 31 May to Sun 6 June

District Centres

Week on

week %

Year on

year %

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Cheetham

Hill

+17% +40%

Chorlton +9% +60%

Fallowfield +23% +177

Gorton +27% +35%

Harpurhey +5% +64%

Levenshul

me

+20% +49%

Northenden +4% +69%

Rushholme +18.5% +114%

Victoria

Avenue

-12.5% +36%

Withington +12% +30%

The overall percentage increase for

district centres on the previous week was

12.2%, whereas the UK figure was 9.5%

Higher

Education

Institutions

From 17th May all remaining university

students eligible to return to in-person

teaching.

Aviation

From 4am 8th June, Portugal is on the

Amber list. This is the Government’s first

Response from MAG:

The ‘traffic light’ system proposed by the Global Travel

Taskforce aimed to provide a safe way for international travel

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update to the traffic light list for

international travel.

Government has confirmed that foreign

travel can resume from Monday 17th May

under a traffic light system, with countries

ranked green, amber or red.

Travelers from an amber list country will

need to self isolate for 10 days with the

option to shorten that period with a

negative PCR test. Whilst those from a

red list country will be required to

quarantine in a hotel for 10 days. All

travelers will be required to take a pre-

departure test and a further test on day 2

of returning to the UK.

to restart over the summer, with testing and isolation

requirements being determined by the level of risk in the

origin country. The UK aviation industry supported this

approach on the basis that it would enable a sustained

reopening as conditions improved. However, the ‘traffic light’

decisions announced in recent weeks are constraining the

recovery in international travel and therefore the recovery of

the aviation industry. A financial support package for the

industry is urgently needed.

Culture Extended impact of the Pandemic on

the cultural sector including continued

closures.

Roadmap for easing COVID

restrictions announced 22 Feb Most

venues able to legally open at stage 3, 17

May.

This week’s Government's announcement

on the progress of the Roadmap means

that cultural venues started to reopen

from 17 May

EARG – The EARG Cultural, Entertainment and Convention

Facilities scheme has supported audience-facing venues and

facilities with their recovery from the pandemic. A total of

£1,839,416 has been paid out in grants so far with the

remaining £501,507 due to be paid out this week. A small

number of organisations were unable to claim their grant and

some of these monies have been reallocated. A balance of

just under £160,000 remains from the £2.5m allocation.

Feedback from individual organisations has been very

positive. Around half of the 92 recipients were live music

venues and in some of these cases this funding has been

crucial. A small number of non-venue based cultural

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National Event pilots that tested

reopening strategies concluded 15th May

Spring Budget announcements 3

March

Still awaiting further details of third wave

of Culture Recovery Fund investment that

was announced. - £300m for cultural

sector in England. Previous round of

culture recovery funding awards was

designed to support companies in need

until 30 June 21.

To date £51m in funding has been paid

out to 146 businesses.

Cultural Investment Fund

ACE announced (24/5) guidance for

the three investment funds that

collectively form the Cultural Investment

Fund (CIF)

organisations have benefited from the EARG Charities

scheme. Both schemes will closed on Monday 14 June.

Reopening Plans

It is estimated that up to 20% of bars and pubs in the city

centre are currently closed because of staff isolating

following track and trace alerts. This issue has been

heightened by major issues with recruitment as short-staffed

venues simply do not have the capacity to remain open even

if some of the staff had not been in contact with a suspected

case. This is likely to have further impacts on viability for a

sector that is already struggling.

Many arts & cultural venues across as the city have been re-

opening in recent weeks to visitors in-line with the

government’s roadmap, notably:

Manchester Art Gallery - Opened on the 19 May having

pre-released 13,750 tickets for the first month of

Grayson's Art Club (from 19 May to 20 June). Free

admission but booking essential to help manage numbers

while social distancing is still in place. All booked in the

first three days.

HOMEGround outdoor major performance space with two

stages at First Street launched 28 May. Week 1 figures:

tickets for performances – 2,544

F&B covers - 6,268

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The Cultural Development Fund

(Round 2) £18.5 million in 2021/22 - to

unlock local growth and productivity,

promote economic and social

recovery COVID & regenerate

communities through capital

investment in place-based creative

and cultural initiatives.

Museum Estate and Development

Fund is available to non-national

Accredited museums and has a

budget of £18.8 million for 2021/22.

The Libraries Improvement Fund has

a budget of £5 million for

2021/22 which will help libraries

to deliver these services and reach

their local communities.

Total footfall - 8,821

(52% higher than predicted)

The Halle played their first two concerts with live

audiences since March 2020 on 4/6. Conducted by their

Music Director Mark Elder, both the matinee at & evening

performances were sold out on significantly reduced,

socially distanced basis (600 seats compared to the

normal 2,350 capacity). Bridgewater Hall venue operators

SMG have developed an effective and well received

‘Venueshield’ safety concept (COVID mitigation

procedures and programme and have shared with other

Mcr Venues.

Manchester Collective has opened a multi-media show

for live audiences, in Salford ‘s White Hotel. "Dark Days,

Luminous Night" runs 3-10 June with a maximum

audience of 8 socially distanced persons for each hourly

slot and is expected to be sold out (they would normally

sell 150-200 tickets for a standup show in that venue)

Whitworth Art Gallery - from 19 May Wed to Sun

Manchester Museum - from 19 May top floor Nature &

Wellbeing education & co-working space. Opening more fully

in the summer and then closed for 14 months to complete

major capital works.

HOME- cinemas and gallery on 17 May.

National Football Museum from 19th May and working with

MIF on Cathedral Gardens events.

Frog & Bucket comedy venue opened from 17 May with live

shows and streaming.

Hope Mill Theatre- opened w/b 25 May with live and online

show though to end June.

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Then July until August running outdoor theatre performances

in Ancoats/ Pollard St for 3 weeks.

Palace and Opera House opens from August.

The Edge (Chorlton) will be open for courses and classes but

not for public performances until Sept.

Company Chameleon (Openshaw) - continuing with online

classes and artists in studios - will reopen for public live

classes in Sept and a refinished flexible studio /theatre that

can accommodate 112 capacity at their Varna Street School

Site.

RNCM venues will remain closed until Sept to prioritise

student use of the site.

ZArts - already opened for participants and launching exhibition The Tiger Who Came to Tea & the adventures of Mog 28th May. June to Sept ‘Summer of Play’ centering on outdoor events in park settings. Theatre returns in Sept. The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) is

expected open later in the summer

Manchester International Festival

takes place 1-18 June

The MIF21 programme launched on 28 April. All events will

be Covid safe.

Campaigns

Cultural Recovery - Joint audience development campaign

by cultural partners launched 17 May.

#HereforCultureMCR

Music Venue Trust ‘Revive Live’ - audience campaign

launched w/c 10/5

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Funding

Officers are supporting proposals included within the

Levelling Up Fund applications which include cultural

elements and Officers are reviewing the newly announced

guidance on ACE’s Cultural Investment Fund.

Developme

nt

Continued development interest in

the city for both commercial and

residential scheme.

All schemes are back on site, and

construction levels increased since

the beginning of the pandemic,

although with some overall delays

to programmes.

Risks around supply chains/access

to materials, with associated

increases in costs.

Access to finance for hotel and

retail schemes likely to be more

challenging.

Economic Recovery & Investment

Plan identifies key schemes which

can drive recovery and create new

jobs. Ongoing work to identify

funding opportunities for schemes.

Long term impact on office

demand being monitored on an

ongoing basis, but positive

Brownfield Housing Fund - Officers continue to

work with GMCA on grant agreements for the 2nd

round and additional 10% schemes, which need to be

in place by end of July 2021.

Victoria North - Collyhurst: The planning application

for 244 new homes (including 100 new Council

houses) and the first phase of a new park in

Collyhurst Village was submitted in February.

Enabling works commenced in May 2021. The

determination of the planning application is expected

by early June 2021. A further planning application for

30 new Council homes for Collyhurst South was

submitted in May 2021.(Please see below on approval

of 1202 homes around Gould Street).

Planning & Highways Committee on 3 June approved the following schemes:

Kendal’s building, Deansgate & King Street West (Deansgate): Conversion of building into mixed use (offices and retail) and extension. Approved

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indications from office agents and

the Business Sounding Board.

Government increased housing

target by 35% in UK’s 20 largest

cities, including Manchester, in

December 2020. The implications

of this are currently being

assessed.

Gould St, Williamson St, Bromley St & Bilbrook St: 1202 new homes and 192sq.m. commercial as part of the Victoria North masterplan.

Vine Street (Gorton & Abbey Hey): 25 two-storey affordable homes.

Plot at Stockport Road, Swallow Street, Siddal Street & Pennington Street (Longsight): 5-storey building on a currently vacant plot for ground floor retail with 39 apartments above.

Bruntwood SciTech and investor Stanhope have been

confirmed as delivery partners for the University of

Manchester’s ID Manchester scheme. The next step

is to incorporate the legal entity for the joint venture

that will deliver it.

Morgan Sindall have been appointed as contractor

for North Manchester General Hospital. The

company will be undertaking a range of enabling

works, which includes a new multi-storey car park and

cycle hub.

Office refurbishments complete: A 16-storey office block on Marble Street has opened following refurbishment by Bruntwood Works. The former home of the LGBT Foundation on Richmond Street has been refurbished by Urban Splash and the 7,000sq.ft. building is available to rent.

Plans for Princess Street: a planning application has been made to refurbish two vacant buildings at 40-46 Princess Street to create 75,000sq.ft. of offices, with a gym in the basement. The owners, Wittington

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Investments, are hoping to start on site in September this year, subject to planning permission.

City centre transactions: Hotel Brooklyn and office building 15 on Quay Street have both been sold off market to private parties.

Boddingtons developer in administration: Prosperity UX have appointed administrators, with the scheme not yet on site. Planning permission was granted in February 2019 for a residential complex to deliver 556 homes.

Affordable

Housing

Risk to developer and investor

confidence.

Working with RP’s and other

developers to understand current

impact and forward plans.

Assessing sources and levels of

investment, and any obstacles

Investigating grant funding,

financial and other support needed

to enable early start of key projects

Understanding supply chain issues

and identifying appropriate support

measures.

Developing guidance/share good

practice for safe operation of sites

Expediting design & planning

phases of projects.

Following another record year for affordable housing

completions in Manchester in 2020-21 – initial forecasts

suggest a further 484 new affordable homes will be built

across Manchester in 2021-22. This includes 289 social rent,

115 affordable rent, 79 shared ownership and 2 rent to buy

homes.

In addition, there are currently 830 new affordable homes

currently under construction across the city and expected to

complete over the next few years. This includes a number of

large-scale developments including:

Belle Vue Stadium Site – Countryside and Great

Places have begun work on the redevelopment of the

mixed tenure scheme which includes 130 new

affordable homes

Grey Mare Lane Estate – One Manchester have

started construction on the first two phases of the

Estate Regeneration programme (Blackrock Street &

Windermere Close) which are expected completed in

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Risk of registered providers

slowing down or pausing

programmes to consolidate

finances/liquidity

Ensure Zero Carbon and Fire

safety provision are part of the

programmes.

Potential flooding of the PRS

sector as the short term let market

shrinks.

2021-22. The redevelopment is set to deliver c.290

new affordable homes (incl. 124 of reprovision) and

the retrofit of 169 homes over the next 5 years. A

Master Plan will be submitted to MCC Executive in

July 2021.

Gorton Lane – One Manchester have also begun

construction on the scheme delivering 109 homes (18

for shared ownership & 91 for rent-to-buy) – expected

to complete in 2022-23

Updates on further key schemes:

Great Places have submitted plans for Ancoats

Dispensary which is set to go to Planning Committee

at the end of July

Great Places has also acquired land from MCC at the

Former British Legion Site (Victoria Avenue) which

will deliver 25 affordable homes (11 social rent and 14

affordable rent).

A planning Application for Silk Street was submitted

on 26 May and RIBA Stage 4 design work has

commenced. Completion set for Spring 2023

Having agreed Heads of Terms with Anchor Hanover

Group for the delivery of Russell Road - the first

purpose-built LGBT+ majority extra care scheme -

solicitors are preparing drafts of the development

agreement and lease.

MCC are currently working with Mosscare St Vincents

to agree heads of terms in relation to the

redevelopment of Chorlton Baths. MSV is initiating

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engagement with members and local stakeholders

including the Family GP Surgery & Unicorn Grocery

Transport

and

Infrastructu

re

Transport funding settlement

At the 2021 Budget the Government

committed to the Intra-city Transport

Fund – £4.2bn spread across 8 city-

regions. The Spending Review in 2020

confirmed an initial £2.5bn for the eight

city-regions in England from 2022-23 for

a 3-year period. GM will receive a portion

of this fund, under a negotiated

settlement.

Summary of transport activity for week ending 30 May

(GM-wide)

There were around 50.1m trips made in Greater

Manchester – an increase of 4.2% compared to the

previous week.

This increase was largely driven by increases in activity

on public transport and active travel modes – with cycling

up 26.3%, Metrolink and rail up 11.4% and bus trips

increasing by 0.8%.

A smaller increase (0.5%) was seen on GM highways -

with current levels now around 3% below pre-COVID

levels.

The improvement in weather conditions contributed to a

5% uptick in journeys over the weekend compared to the

previous week.

The rolling 7-day average index estimates that Regional

Centre footfall is approximately 81% of the pre-pandemic

average.

Transport activity by mode for week ending 6 June (GM-

wide)

Bus (patronage): -21.6% on previous week; -53.3%

compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day was Friday

with 305,387 passengers.

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Metrolink (patronage): -5.8% on previous week; -43%

compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day was Friday

with 65,957

passengers.

Rail (passenger footfall Piccadilly): +6.7% on previous

week; -54% compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day

was Friday with 69,376 passengers.

Highway (private vehicle trips): -6.5% on previous week; -

10.7% compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day was

Friday with 5,090,119 trips.

Cycling (trips): +26.3% on previous week; 116.6%

compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day was

Tuesday with 189,249 trips.

Walking (pedestrian trips): +15.9% on previous week;

+48% compared to pre-COVID levels. The busiest day was

Wednesday with 1,616,833 pedestrian trips.

Development of GM transport funding bid to Government

The Intra-city Transport Fund settlement will be

negotiated with Government, with TfGM leading those

negotiations.

TfGM and local authorities are developing a pipeline

of priorities to bid to government. MCC officers are

working to ensure Manchester priorities are

appropriately resourced in the funding bid.

Formal negotiations with Government are expected to

take place in the second half of 2021/22, and the 2021

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Spending Review is likely to be a key milestone within

this process. The Spending Review could be held

anywhere from late summer to winter, depending on

Government’s choice.

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Skills,

Labour

Market and

Business

Support

Furlough and newly unemployed

Headlines include

In April 2021 there were 35,755

claimants of unemployment

benefits in Manchester – down

slightly from 35,895 in March.

The latest claimant count data

highlights that unemployment in

Manchester is increasing across all

ages under 65 – not just 16-24

year olds compared to GM where

16-24 year olds continue to be the

dominant age group.

There are 30,200 residents

furloughed in May – down from

36,100 in April and has been

dropping since January. Increases

in the number of residents

furloughed in November & January

reflects the introduction of

subsequent national lockdowns but

lower than the July 2020 peak

(45,900 Manchester residents)

Newly Unemployed Support

MCFC Market place Event 2 and 3 July

Over 70 employers and 9,000 vacancies across a

range of sectors have now been secured over 2 days

MCFC and MCC will begin to push messages out as it

is a ticketed event

Event will be ‘more than just a jobs fair’, with plenty of

job opportunities and training opportunities, alongside

a range of support services - debt advice.

See attached the brochure MCC is working hard to

promote

Progress 21 – Thursday 24 June 2021 - Link here

▫ The Growth Company delivering a large-scale ‘in-

person’, one-day conference at Manchester Central

▫ One day – 3 events, centred :

▫ Careers:- Jobs and careers fair matching

employers, employees and support

organisations getting people into jobs

▫ Business:- offering insight and support on key issues

including generating sales, managing cash-flow and

raising finance, as we move towards recovery and

growth

▫ Global:- (Midas) showcasing the city-region on a

global stage, and attracting investors and visitors

MMU: have a voluntary severance scheme in place.

Continued engagement with MMU by the Newly Unemployed

Partnership to support the organisation to provide the

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partnership’s newly unemployed offer for those people who

will be at risk of being out of work.

Skills assessment results due out this week after which

results can shape the offer with DWP and MAES/ Mcr

College. Ongoing engagement and sessions with

employees, proactive response has been put in place from

the partners, numbers wanting to take up support is lower

than expected but good offer in place. .

Employment Support webinar pilot took place on 25 May

- designed for residents who are facing redundancy or

have been made redundant, whose furlough is coming

to an end

- residents who want to consider a career change,

- the event will enable residents to understand options

to pursue.

- MCC and partners will be offering advice and

answering questions as well as providing free legal

advice in relation to employment.

- Will be evaluated with resident feedback

- Partnership will review the need and demand for a

second webinar in August/September following the

face to face job fairs in late June and early July.

Hospitality Sector Partners have been delivering the

following actions in relation to recruitment issues in the

hospitality sector

JCP have delivered updated training throughout

Jobcentres to work coaches on hospitality

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opportunities strengthening the priority focus on the

sector

Upcoming Job Fairs will include a number of

vacancies and employers to market opportunities

Marketing Manchester working with Hospitality HR

Managers to understand issues and develop plans for

the short and medium term including understanding

changing perceptions of conditions in the sector

City Co are co-ordinating with bars and restaurants

providing intelligence to the partnership and signpost

job vacancies to the Talent Hub (the existing portal for

vacancies in the sector) and new communication

methods to support advertising are being discussed.

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Offer for 16-19 year olds

The May submission to the DfE shows a slight increase in unknown from 3.7% to 4.1% and a .1% decrease in NEET to 3.6%, a combined figure of 7.7% which is an increase of 0.5% from this time last year. September guarantee has increased to 65% from 44% at the same time this year – this means recorded on the CCIS system 65% of year 11’s has a guaranteed offer of a post 16 destination.

Offer for 16-19 year olds

Referral information had been sent to Social Care Managers

and VCS Youth Work Partnerships to help them in working

with year 11 RONI young people who they work with to help

them to transition into a positive destination.

Career Connect have reinstated face to face visits to track

the unknown. In Wythenshawe they are carrying out joint

home visits with the Wythenshawe Community Housing

Group. They have also launched a social media campaign

targeted at year 12’s.

Career Connect with The Manchester Growth Company

(ESF NEET) have contacted all High schools with high

numbers of high-risk RONI students to jointly plan support for

these students and to receive referrals of those who will

need support across the summer.

Youth unemployment

Maximise the opportunities from and

work with partners to roll out the Kickstart

Scheme.

Youth unemployment

The 1st cohort of seven MCC Kickstart placements has now

been approved by DWP. Currently working through final

agreements and timeline for recruitment.

Working with colleagues in DWP to increase Kickstart uptake

in Wythenshawe. Planning an event in late June to connect

South Manchester employers to young people interested in

Kickstart opportunities.

Traineeships workshops convened with key partners

including GMCA, Manchester College, Manchester Growth

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Promotion of Apprenticeships and

Traineeships.

Developing a clear offer to support our

graduates

Company and other traineeship providers. The group has

agreed to collaborate on several joint priorities to promote

and deliver more Traineeships in the City.

Working in close partnership with MMU Careers staff to improve employment outcomes for Graduates with ongoing engagement with UoM and UCEN.

Draft SME support proposal received from MMU to support up to 30 grads into employment. MCC working group developing this approach incl. Targeting offer to priority groups and working with HR to consider talent attraction opportunities to MCC.

Data sharing agreement between MCC/ MMU supporting Labour Market Intel needs and intelligence of skills pipeline.

Skills and employment support for

adults

Challenge -

Roll out of phase 2 of the MCC

Digital Device Scheme – reaching

groups identified as most excluded

via the Digital Exclusion Index.

Raising awareness of the digital

support.

Further develop a comms campaign and events to raise the profile of adult learning and the ambition of MAESP -

Manchester Adult Education and Skills Awards 113 nominations. Planning going well and event will include a talk from local female leader and a learner, music from local providers and each award has been made across learners from MMU and the 3D printing company Dicey Tech

Developing a newsletter to be circulated in June to give training providers information on LMI, awards collateral, Skills and training opportunities and updates on the plan.

First provider newsletter to include – an invitation to the MAESP Awards, opportunities from providers, quarterly LMI update, policy review paper, GMCA funding round up review, Digital inclusion progress

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Ensure that the City's learning

provision is responding to new

challenges as well as existing

challenges.

and 2021 plans, an invite to MAESP webinars, HOLEX (skills for life) skills and post 16 education bill explanatory notes and the MCFC event.

Providers having access to up-to-date Labour Market intelligence to support them to design their skills offers to better align with the cities current and future needs -

AEB, 2 hour provider workshop hosted, 17 provides attended. Providers were consulted on what they want to see from the following workshops.

First adult learning ‘learning lunch’ to take place – THINK to present skills reform research and recommendations for the first due to take place this month.

Enable the CRF and MAES CL programme to deliver Manchester's priorities -

Conversations with a number of providers to offer advice and enable collaborations where similar activity is being planned. So far projects covering – green skills, work placements for young people not on UC, employment support for those further from the labour market, bootcamps for digital industry, support programme for black businesses, VCSE grant funding for wellbeing support and training.

Support all residents to access and effectively engage with the internet for both work and life –

Two candidates recruited into 12 month Citizens Advice - Manchester Digital Inclusion and Engagement Officer posts to focus on disabled residents and residents with Black Caribbean, Black African, Bangladeshi, Pakistani.

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Initial planning meeting to be held to start phase 2 of pilot scheme this month.

Total of 297 devices given to schools and colleges through GM Tech Fund since Jan 2021.

MCC Digital Device Scheme – trial demo site set up and set to partners to test. Partners have been giving a survey and will be meeting as a collective to discuss.

MCC Digital Action Plan – objectives set against workstreams across the programme. A monthly report will be produced from June for consistent monitoring against actions and objectives.

Procurement of device scheme for phase 2 - as well as a hybrid wifi model, it will include a range of devices such as phones/tablets to support homeless residents and people wishing to use for food poverty, which has been informed by key findings from early evaluation.

First roll out of phase 2 device scheme to take place over the next two weeks. A total of 80 devices to support people on the waiting list and 15 devices to support an MHCC GP project.

Develop a high-quality Manchester approach to CEIAG for adults in which best practice, current opportunities and resources are shared and deployed for optimum impact – Desktop research and primary research has been gathered report to share key insights and recommendations for projects moving forward to be completed by the end of June 2020.

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Take action that contributes to tackling inequalities - ensuring adult learners across curriculum are representative of our communities – with a particular focus on age (i.e. 50-64), race (i.e. Black and Asian), disability and gender -

- deliver primary research on community based learning and pathways to positive life outcomes

- focus on entry level skills, health and wellbeing and wrap around support.

- Priority areas/ groups - Central Manchester, potentially a neighbourhood in Wythenshawe, older residents and residents from ethnic backgrounds.

Social Value and Local Benefit

Challenge: Many residents are not

connecting to opportunities created in the

city – how can we use social value

internally to maximise creation of

employment/skills/training opportunities

targeted at our residents and use our

influence to do the same with

organisations externally?

Ensure that MCC’s approach to SV

reflects current economic circumstances

and Think recommendations.

Coordinate employment and skills related

social value “offers” from across MCC’s

largest suppliers and capital projects into

Social value and local benefit

Officers have developed initial forward procurement pipelines

for directorates that provide a basis for planning future social

value opportunities. Integrated Commissioning and

Procurement, Work and Skills and City Policy are meeting

management teams to discuss these opportunities and raise

awareness of the social value priorities.

Further work has continued on measures of social value (I.e.

KPIs) that can be tracked both at a contract level and a more

macro level - Procurement have recently developed a

contract template that is available for staff to use and we are

promoting across our contract networks.

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a pipeline of opportunities that can be

promoted to residents and

employment/skills/training organisations.

Business Support, Sustainability &

Growth

As of 6 June the total allocated to date on

LRSG, ARG and Restart grants is now

£107.574m (£104.651m since the last

update).

In the week of 31 May to 6 June 2021 the

Council provided £2.141m of support to

businesses through 577 payments.

Business support, sustainability and growth

Business Grants

Discretionary ARG Restart - City Centre Regen and

W&S Staff continue to process applications to make

payments to businesses quickly with c100 processed

for payment.

Equalities/

Disadvantaged

Ensure that disadvantaged and underrepresented groups are supported by activity included in Workstreams 1-6. This would include Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups, young people, over 50's, homeless, veterans, survivors of DV&A, ESA claimants, and those experiencing family poverty.

Equalities/

Disadvantaged

W&S leading on co-creation of an information leaflet for the

over 50’s signposting to appropriate employment support.

‘Uncertain Futures ‘– women over 50 and work -art project is

due to open at MAG on 24 June with a series of interviews.

Alongside this a MICRA policy event will be held on 13 July

hosted by researchers from the University of Manchester and

MMU and include solution focussed conversations with

policy makers on the topic of ‘hat needs to happen for

women over 50 regarding work and why?’.

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Covid has worsened the situation for many already experiencing inequality – the challenge is to ensure support is targeted to reach the communities in most need.

North Manchester Employment Support Group reviewing

shared priorities to determine where to focus attention and

resource – linking in with TANs and the Family Poverty

‘sustainable work’ workstream around community provision.

Funding

No specific known impacts on current

external funding bids caused by C19 as

yet. Known bids progressing through

funding approval processes as expected.

Team in City Policy developing a funding

action plan based on C19 recovery and

Corporate priorities

Working with City Centre Growth to map

funding opportunities through the 2020

Spending Review

Levelling Up Fund Project teams are working on the

proposals for City Centre culture bid and Withington Village

for submission to Government on 18/06/21.

External

Influencing

& Lobbying

The Government’s economic response to

C19 has been fast moving and feeding in

Manchester’s priorities has required a

coordinated approach.

The Council’s Chief Executive and a number of

Directors met with Neil O’Brien MP on 1 June 2021. A

White Paper on Levelling Up is planned and will

influence the autumn Spending Review.

The discussion centred on: North Manchester and the

need for a cross-departmental approach with a

sponsoring department, and on challenges around

integrating different transport systems.

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Discussions with GMCA have also started to ensure

Spending Review submissions are coordinated.

A further meeting with Cities and Local Growth

Unit/BEIS has also taken place to discuss a range of

issues including Levelling Up Fund, North Manchester

& a range of Zero Carbon projects which are

underway and may need Government support

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